Abdominal fluid drain (paracentesis) cost in Philadelphia, PA

Prices at 13 hospitals in Philadelphia, PA, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $1,316 — about the US median ($1,290), roughly 4.6× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
Nazareth Hospital Philadelphia, PA $225 $47 ★ 2/5 216 min 14.5%
Roxborough Memorial Hospital Philadelphia, PA $927 $974 ★ 2/5 182 min 15.5%
Jefferson Health-Northeast Philadelphia, PA $1,024 $168 ★ 2/5 290 min 15.4%
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital Philadelphia, PA $1,072 $1,607 ★ 3/5 253 min 16.2%
Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital Philadelphia, PA $1,099 $1,041 ★ 3/5 269 min 15.4%
St Christopher's Hospital for Children Philadelphia, PA $1,316 $695
Hospital of Univ of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA $2,325 $1,163 ★ 5/5 280 min 14.4%
Penn Presbyterian Medical Center Philadelphia, PA $2,346 $1,173 ★ 4/5 316 min 15.2%
Philadelphia VA Medical Center Philadelphia, PA $4,131 $2,479 ★ 5/5 14.5%
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA $4,131 $2,479
Pennsylvania Hospital Philadelphia, PA $6,891 $2,756 ★ 4/5 272 min 15.8%

CMS rating = overall hospital star rating (1–5); ER wait = median minutes in the emergency department; Readmit = 30-day readmission rate (lower is better) — all from Medicare’s Care Compare; “—” = not reported. Data last updated August 2026. Prices from hospitals’ machine-readable files (45 CFR §180); Medicare benchmark from CMS PFS/CLFS/IPPS. Prices below 15% of the median are excluded as likely partial or mis-coded charges. Estimates — confirm with the hospital. Report an incorrect price.

Price comparison (median)

Chargemaster (list price)
$3,382
Cash / self-pay
$1,316
Insurer-negotiated
$1,144
Medicare pays
$284
$927$4,131
Median cash $1,316  ·  Medicare $284  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $1,316 — about 4.6× the Medicare rate ($284). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($568).

💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $3,382 list price could save about $2,066 (61%).

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Rough estimate from this procedure’s median insurer-negotiated rate. Your actual cost depends on your plan — confirm with your insurer.

Doctors who perform this in Philadelphia

Clinicians who reported the most Medicare volume for this service locally. This reflects Original Medicare activity only and is a volume signal, not a quality ranking.

ClinicianSpecialtyLocationMedicare services
Bhavik Patel, M.D.Diagnostic RadiologyPhiladelphia, PA107
Derek Lee, M.D.Diagnostic RadiologyPhiladelphia, PA73
Shane Lee, MDInterventional RadiologyPhiladelphia, PA70
Jared Meshekow, M.D., M.P.H.Interventional RadiologyPhiladelphia, PA68
Mark Allan, MDDiagnostic RadiologyPhiladelphia, PA64
Dmitry Niman, MDDiagnostic RadiologyPhiladelphia, PA59
Brian Bianco, D.O.Interventional RadiologyPhiladelphia, PA59
Joseph Panaro, MDInterventional RadiologyPhiladelphia, PA57
Matthew Callaghan, M.D.Diagnostic RadiologyPhiladelphia, PA54
Adam Kerestes, DODiagnostic RadiologyPhiladelphia, PA54
Richard Shlansky-Goldberg, MDInterventional RadiologyPhiladelphia, PA51
Stephan LeungInterventional RadiologyPhiladelphia, PA44

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All Abdominal fluid drain (paracentesis) prices in Pennsylvania → · All Abdominal fluid drain (paracentesis) prices (national) · All hospitals in Philadelphia